I have finally (albeit just under a year late!) decided to take the plung and decide to learn the drive.

How many of you have learnt to drive. Any embarssing stories :D Failed tests etc? :D

I will probably start learning in October. Have you TJ or other 17/18 year olds here started to learn yet or indeed past? :D

tjpeople

Sep 24, 2005, 02:06 PM

Well ive been learning for a while - no rush, ive passed my theory and have my practical in a few weeks.....

Lucky americans can start learning much earlier than us in the UK. They can start learning at 15 right?

Im not gunna get a car thought, insurnace is too expensive.

admin

Sep 24, 2005, 02:08 PM

Well ive been learning for a while - no rush, ive passed my theory and have my practical in a few weeks.....

Lucky americans can start learning much earlier than us in the UK. They can start learning at 15 right?

Im not gunna get a car thought, insurnace is too expensive.
Quite a agree, the insurance is far to great for my own car, I shall just use my mums! - my dad won't let me near his car :D

yardgames

Sep 24, 2005, 06:20 PM

That sort of thing is pretty different in the US. As you may have learned from MITM, American teens instinctivly know that wheels are much cooler than legs, so people generally learn to drive ASAP even if not everyone gets their own car.

I just got my license a couple of weeks ago. And I turned 16 a month ago; it was teh soonest I could get a road test. I did almost perfect on the test, BTW.

And you can start drivers ed. in America when you 15, and actually start driving wtih a temporary permit when you're 15.5.

admin

Sep 24, 2005, 06:27 PM

Thats pretty cool, here you can't drive onroad until you turn 17 bang on, you can get your provisinal before, but its not legal on the roads until your 17th birthday.

tjpeople

Sep 24, 2005, 08:48 PM

No offensive to americans but your driving standards are much lower than the uk (as far as tests goes)

insurance is also a lot less.

samboo1

Sep 25, 2005, 09:35 AM

I wondered why Reese was learning how to drive when he was only 15.:o

NeCoHo

Sep 25, 2005, 11:50 AM

we take a drving test at the end of our first year of high school(or 9th grade) Yet, you can't drive legally in NJ until you turn 16. that means, you take the test at 15, get a permet at 16, and get a license at 17.

Jimmy Junior

Sep 26, 2005, 01:55 PM

I passed my test 3rd time after about 6 months and £1000 of lessons.
A word of advice: don't use BSM - you have to pay extra for the privelige of having a shop which you go into once, and the instructors are no better than you'd get with an independant company.

My first car was a green Peugeot 205 which cost me £350, sounded like a tractor and was held together with rust. I loved that car.

Kratos

Apr 3, 2006, 04:18 PM

Did you pass yet? :confused:

I really enjoy driving lol, passed last August, at the grand old age of 20, :p (I started well late because of the cost of it all)

It's all about going slow really and taking it clamly, you pass much quicker that way.

I do think the UK standards are higher test wise, unlike the US people here dont HAVE to have a car to get any place, plus the US loves it's fuel taxes :D

Do feel 15 is a bit young to be honest :eek: they are complicated machines that can do massive damage after all...

yardgames

Apr 3, 2006, 05:13 PM

Hey--15 year olds can get drunk in England! :D

Jimmy Junior

Apr 3, 2006, 07:55 PM

Hey--15 year olds can get drunk in England! :D
Ummm... They can, but not legally.

Kratos

Apr 4, 2006, 04:24 AM

Hey--15 year olds can get drunk in England! :D

I'm sure 15 year olds in the US can as well ;) , I dont know maybe 15 driving a car over there works better in the long run, I dont have any SATS about crashes etc, so cant truly compare the two systems.

NeCoHo

Apr 4, 2006, 05:55 AM

15 year olds can get drunk everywhere, if they tried hard enough...

I can drive a boat (not legally of course) but I almost grew up on a boat, learned to drive it at 8, and every summer, my uncle's sport/fishing boat, cranking the thing up to 50mph and letting me take the wheel. :D mmmmm....baptism by fire...

Amigo22

Apr 4, 2006, 07:55 AM

Quite a agree, the insurance is far to great for my own car, I shall just use my mums! - my dad won't let me near his car :D

What type of car does he have? Dad bought a new Mazda several months back after Blake bought his old Commodore off him. We'd had it like 2 months before Blake whacked into it driving up the driveway. Dad had parked on a weird angle which didn't help but neither did what Blake had been doing while he was out...:eek:

yardgames

Apr 4, 2006, 04:41 PM

15 year olds can get drunk everywhere, if they tried hard enough...

I can drive a boat (not legally of course) but I almost grew up on a boat, learned to drive it at 8, and every summer, my uncle's sport/fishing boat, cranking the thing up to 50mph and letting me take the wheel. :D mmmmm....baptism by fire...
J, are you saying you've been drunk? :D

What type of car does he have? Dad bought a new Mazda several months back after Blake bought his old Commodore off him. We'd had it like 2 months before Blake whacked into it driving up the driveway. Dad had parked on a weird angle which didn't help but neither did what Blake had been doing while he was out...:eek:

A little reminder that we don't know your people...who's Blake? :)

NeCoHo

Apr 4, 2006, 05:01 PM

I'm not saying anything about me being drunk. All I'm saying is that if you tried hard enough (bribe an older brother, give a hobo a dollar to do it, I don't know) anyone can get drunk underage. :D

rzombie1988

Apr 4, 2006, 05:31 PM

I'm only 17 years old, and I learned about a year ago. The permit test took me 2 times to pass, and the actual drivers test took me 3 times to pass.

Personally, I don't like driving. It's boring and there are way too many people being stupid on the road between not paying attention and talking on the phone and driving.

simon_4420

Apr 4, 2006, 05:45 PM

I always think it weird that you can be on the road at 15 in the USA, because when I look around at the 15 years old I know I couldn't imagine then driving, unless they stole the car!

I fluked my test, I have no idea how I passed first time as I was bricking it. I remember that I had a lesson before the test and I could hardly drive I was so nervous. I only just past with 10 miners! If you are taking a test soon though I recomend that you tell no-one. Its way more fun. No-one knew I had a test not even my parents, so when I passed I came home and took my car out and my parents went mad at me for driving it on my own until I showed them my certificate. ALSO.... if you fail NO-ONE KNOWS!!!!:D

Wildcat

Apr 4, 2006, 05:47 PM

there are way too many people being stupid on the road between not paying attention and talking on the phone and driving.

I totally agree! I get so annoyed when people are going all slow and swerving all over the road because they're trying to talk on their stupid cell phone and drive at the same time.

I saw a bumper sticker one time that said: "I wonder if you could drive any better if you shoved that cell phone up your a$$." If I ever see it in a store, I'm buying it! :D

Amigo22

Apr 4, 2006, 07:25 PM

J, are you saying you've been drunk? :D

A little reminder that we don't know your people...who's Blake? :)

Oh, sorry... my 18 year old brother :)

Amigo22

Apr 4, 2006, 07:36 PM

I totally agree! I get so annoyed when people are going all slow and swerving all over the road because they're trying to talk on their stupid cell phone and drive at the same time.

I saw a bumper sticker one time that said: "I wonder if you could drive any better if you shoved that cell phone up your a$$." If I ever see it in a store, I'm buying it! :D

OMG you guys should see the bumper stickers available in the discount/variety stores over here. They are so hilarious! You can also get wall signs with similar messages. My brother has heaps of them, and I've got a few about cats (polite ones...cheezy I know :D)

yardgames

Apr 4, 2006, 07:39 PM

I always think it weird that you can be on the road at 15 in the USA, because when I look around at the 15 years old I know I couldn't imagine then driving, unless they stole the car!

I fluked my test, I have no idea how I passed first time as I was bricking it. I remember that I had a lesson before the test and I could hardly drive I was so nervous. I only just past with 10 miners! If you are taking a test soon though I recomend that you tell no-one. Its way more fun. No-one knew I had a test not even my parents, so when I passed I came home and took my car out and my parents went mad at me for driving it on my own until I showed them my certificate. ALSO.... if you fail NO-ONE KNOWS!!!!:D
Impossible to do it without one's parent's permission over here--you need someone over 18 still to sign all the official paperwork.

And if you just "took the car out for a spin" here most people's parents would be just a little bit angry... :D

Kratos

Apr 5, 2006, 04:41 AM

I totally agree! I get so annoyed when people are going all slow and swerving all over the road because they're trying to talk on their stupid cell phone and drive at the same time.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Over here it's illegal to drive while talking on your mobile (cell phone)! Next your be telling me is OK to drive over there without a seat belt, lol.

NeCoHo

Apr 5, 2006, 05:12 AM

All(or most) of these laws apply in different states. In NJ, it's illegal to drive while talking on your cell phone, just like in NJ, at 15, you can get a moped license, at 16, driver's permit, and at 17, a drivers license.

yardgames

Apr 5, 2006, 04:30 PM

You can't get a driver's license till your 17 in NJ? I thought the 16 was a national law...

NeCoHo

Apr 5, 2006, 05:39 PM

Ou can get a permit at 16, as in a other, liscensed driver must be with you when driving, at 17 though, you can drive alone, without a parent...
(http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/cit_permits/d_pat_basicauto.html)

Fortunetly for me, my friend(who has a Mustang) will be turning 17 soon, which means I get to ride to Band practice in the summer in style... :D

yardgames

Apr 5, 2006, 09:09 PM

You have a friend who's not a frosh? How'd that work out? :D In Wisconsin, that's all backed up a bit; you can get your permit at 15 1/2 and your license at 16.

NeCoHo

Apr 6, 2006, 05:38 AM

I have lots of non-freshmen friends...About 60 of them... It's called the band........ :D

yardgames

Apr 6, 2006, 05:25 PM

They might be your friends but that doesn't mean you are their's. :D

Wildcat

Apr 6, 2006, 06:23 PM

Lets be nice; wouldn't want another "catfight" to ensue. ;):D

Back on topic--Virginia is the same as Wisconsin. You can get your learner's permit at 15.5 and your license at 16. I got my license on my 16th birthday, March 27. I had my first (and only) accident on April 27 of that same year. :D Just a little fender bender and it wasn't my fault. Really, IT WASN'T!!! :D

NeCoHo

Apr 6, 2006, 07:46 PM

Alright Sam, we all know that I have mor friends then you do, you even say yourself that you like to pretend to be social. I can name 30 people, right off the top of my head, that I can hang out with whenever I want. NOtice how I'm rarely ever on here on the weekends at night? It's me having a life... yeah. :D

tony_montana

Apr 6, 2006, 08:16 PM

I actually took drivers ed last year at my high school, but I still don't have my stupid permit. Ill try to get it this summer. By what I hear, it's pretty easy. At least I hope it is...

yardgames

Apr 6, 2006, 09:41 PM

I must say I am quite surprised at how many people don't drive yet on these boards.

@J I said I try and be social with the friends I have--no one said I don't have friends--I just don't particularily like all of them. :D

Wildcat

Apr 7, 2006, 12:01 AM

@J I said I try and be social with the friends I have--no one said I don't have friends--I just don't particularily like all of them. :D

You don't like some of your friends? I always thought liking a person was sort of a prerequisite to having them as a friend. Apparently I was wrong! :D That is, unless you're just using them because having them as a friend can benefit you in some way. But you would never do something like that! ;)

I'll be honest and say that although I have a lot of "aquaintences" and people that I used to be friends with but have drifted apart from, currently I don't have an over-abunance of people that I consider "friends"--only 6 that I'm really close to. At least I like them though! :D

yardgames

Apr 7, 2006, 06:38 PM

Man, you guys are tearing me apart here... :(

NeCoHo

Apr 8, 2006, 07:24 AM

Sometimes I think you deserve it. :D

Wildcat

Apr 8, 2006, 12:30 PM

Man, you guys are tearing me apart here... :(

Awww..now I feel bad. :( We like giving you a hard time, but we still love you (in a big, happy MITM family sort of way) :D